By Comrade Tony Akeni, Interim National Publicity Secretary, Labour Party
The Federal High Court in Abuja today put paid to the protracted confusion trailing the Supreme Court judgment delivered April 4 this year on the tenure of the Julius Abure led National Executive Council (NEC) of the Labour Party.
The judgment has consequently also put to rest the ensuing furore of the judgment’s true interpretation by contending parties.
Delivering its verdict today in the federal capital, the court unequivocally also upheld INEC’s rejection of the Julius Abure leadership of the party contained in the electoral commission’s affidavit on oath which asserted that Abure’s tenure as national chairman of the Labour Party terminated on June 8, 2024, and that the purported Nnewi convention which Abure and his defunct council hitherto clung to was inconsistent with INEC’s rules and regulations governing political party convention, the country’s Electoral Act, illegal and therefore null and void.
The development which gives the Nenadi Usman council the clear and puts her squarely in the reins of the Labour Party leadership was made known today in Abuja by Sen. Usman Nenadi herself in an official statement on the judgment and spirited commendation of the judiciary on the party’s leadership disputes and INEC.
Below is the full statement.
I WELCOME THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT JUDGMENT IN SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/1523/2025 AND INEC’S SWORN CONFIRMATION OF THE EXPIRATION OF MR. JULIUS ABURE’S TENURE AS NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF THE LABOUR PARTY
I received with profound relief and deep satisfaction the news of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1523/2025, which today dismissed in its entirety the case instituted by Mr. Julius Abure against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This decision stands as yet another unambiguous and authoritative affirmation of the rule of law and the judiciary’s steadfast consistency in upholding the binding pronouncements of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
This latest judgment aligns squarely with the earlier decision of the Supreme Court, delivered on 4 April 2025 in Appeal No. SC/CV/56/2025, which unequivocally nullified all previous recognitions of Mr. Abure’s purported leadership of the Labour Party. In its wisdom – and in strict adherence to the Supreme Court’s final pronouncement – the Federal High Court in Abuja rightly struck out the originating suit for want of jurisdiction. That decision of the apex court remains binding on all persons and authorities in Nigeria pursuant to Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I must also commend the Independent National Electoral Commission for the clarity, courage, and institutional integrity reflected in its Counter Affidavit during the pendency of the case. In that sworn testimony before the court, INEC categorically confirmed that the tenure of Mr. Abure, along with that of the entire National Executive Committee, expired in June 2024. The Commission further affirmed that it neither monitored nor recognised the purported National Convention held in Nnewi on 27 March 2024, having found it to be in flagrant breach of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, INEC’s own Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022, and the Labour Party Constitution.
This unequivocal position, rendered under oath by the nation’s electoral umpire before a competent court of law, removes all lingering doubts and reinforces the imperative for every member, officer, and stakeholder of our great party to submit, at all times, to the supremacy of our Constitution and the dictates of the rule of law.
With this judgment – and INEC’s clear, unambiguous stance – it is time for all members of the Labour Party to put this needless distraction behind us and to recommit ourselves to the urgent task of rebuilding and repositioning our party into the credible, disciplined, and people-centred political movement that Nigerians deserve.
Under my leadership as Interim National Chairman, I remain unwavering in my commitment to ensuring strict compliance with our party’s Constitution, entrenching transparent internal democratic processes, and restoring unity, discipline, and shared purpose as we prepare for the political contests ahead.
Signed,
Senator Nenadi Usman, PhD
Interim National Chairman, Labour Party
15th August, 2025
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